Author: Oliver Holmes / Source: the Guardian
Hamas appears to have forcibly suppressed a rare uptick in public dissent in Gaza, beating and arresting scores of people over the past week who have been demonstrating against price rises and dire living conditions across the strip.
A group of activists and civil society figures calling itself “We want to live” had planned a general strike on Thursday, but after attacks by riot police since last week it was not clear whether the strike would go ahead.
Hamas rules Gaza, a 140 sq mile territory, while Israel controls the strip’s air, sea and most of its borders. Israel’s military occupies the West Bank, with small enclaves run under the limited autonomy of the Palestinian Authority.
Hamas has backed a year-long protest movement along the frontier with Israel but has not shown similar approval for internal criticism. Over several days during the past week, Palestinians have gathered in multiple locations to rally. They have made clear their demands are economic and not an attempt to overthrow their leaders.
Videos posted online showed officers clubbing unarmed protesters and
The rights group said its Gaza-based researcher Hind Khoudary had been questioned by the interior ministry, “during which four male interrogators subjected her to ill-treatment”. They used abusive language and threatened to prosecute her for spying and working as a foreign agent, Amnesty said.
Nickolay Mladenov, the United Nations envoy to Israel and the Palestinian territories, criticised the crackdown. “I condemn the…
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